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Academics (Registering for Classes)
HOW DO I PREPARE FOR MY SEMESTER ABROAD? Before you leave Loras, make sure you and your academic adviser have worked out a tentative two-year schedule, covering the semester abroad and the year you return. Review all requirements for graduation. These requirements may include meeting general education requirements or requirements for your major or minor. If you are an education major, meet with your education advisor to go over any student teaching or other deadlines that will occur while you are overseas. If you will have completed at least 90 credits by the end of your time abroad, you will need to submit a completed degree status form to the Registrar’s Office before you leave campus for your program abroad. AM I REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN ORIENTATION/PRE-DEPARTURE COURSES? Yes. Before you leave for your host country, you will be required to attend pre-departure classes at Loras College. The purpose of these classes is to prepare students academically and culturally for studying and living abroad. DO I NEED TO GET GOOD GRADES WHILE I’M ABROAD? Yes. Some students look upon time abroad as an opportunity to travel, try out new life-styles and escape from conventions at home. For them, the academic program is peripheral and grades meaningless. They cut classes, skip final exams and ignore the teachers’ expectations and assignments. But this is not in your best interest. Differences in local attitudes and approaches to studying—such as less frequent exams, no feedback about missed assignments, or teachers arriving to class late mean that it is acceptable to skip class or that studying is unimportant. In many cases, these students are surprised that they fail one or more classes while abroad. In many countries, students are simply left to succeed or fail on their own merits with little intervention from professors. Loras College assumes that all participants will take their academic programs seriously and try to succeed. Students will be expected to perform and achieve as if they were on the home campus. They will enroll for a normal schedule, attend classes, take examinations and earn the best grades possible. As on the home campus, each student will be treated as an individual. Academic difficulties or failures will be viewed sympathetically if the student is trying, coldly if the student does not seem to care. It is possible to follow a serious academic program and also find time to explore, try out a different life-style, and taste another culture. The most successful students are those who work hard at their studies throughout the semester. Students who do not take their studies seriously have a particularly negative impact on their classmates in study abroad settings. Attendance is expected in Loras study abroad programs. Students who fail to attend classes or lack seriousness in the program may be dismissed from the program. HOW DO I REGISTER FOR MY SEMESTER ABROAD? Registration procedures vary depending on the program and country of study. Ireland: '''Students are responsible for registering for their courses at Dun Laoghaire and will register on campus at the normal registration time. '''Spain: '''The CEL will be responsible for registering you for your semester in Spain prior to departure. '''South Africa: '''Students will register for classes at the University of Pretoria with all other University of Pretoria students. Before arriving in Pretoria, you can look at the courses offered at the University of Pretoria’s by perusing the UP’s website at http://www.up.ac.za/ or stopping by the CEL. '''Botswana: '''You will be responsible for registering for your own classes once you arrive in Botswana. '''HOW DO I REGISTER FOR MY SEMESTER AT LORAS FOLLOWING STUDY ABROAD? During your semester abroad, you will be notified by email when registration will begin on campus and you will need to e-mail your schedule to both your advisor and the Registrar’s Office. Try to develop alternate schedules in case some of your classes are filled. You will not be allowed to register if you have a balance due on your student account! CAN I PURSUE INDEPENDENT STUDY OPPORTUNITIES? Possibly. Opportunities abound for study abroad students to pursue independent study in other languages, the arts and many other fields. The Center for Experiential Learning cannot supervise or give credit for independent study. Consequently, if you want academic credit and grades, you must make an individual arrangement with your advisor prior to going overseas. Normally, this means heavy correspondence and lots of evidence brought to the home campus for evaluation. Discuss the process and agree on ground rules with your advisor. Independent studies cannot replace lectures or any regular course offered by Loras. Students who receive approval to conduct independent studies while overseas must make sure they can still successfully complete program courses and required excursions. ACADEMIC POLICIES HOW MANY CREDITS DO I NEED TO TAKE WHEN I STUDY ABROAD? Each student must enroll for a normal load, defined as a minimum of 12 semester hours and more typically 15 semester hours. Independent study in the city does not count toward the load unless specifically approved by Loras College. CAN I WITHDRAW FROM A COURSE WHEN I STUDY ABROAD? A student may withdraw from a course, with a W placed on the record, only with permission from the on-site director and the Loras faculty or on-site director. The student is responsible for contacting the Registrar’s Office at Loras and/or the host university to make any schedule changes. Students must be careful not to drop below 12 credit hours. If a student drops below 12 credit hours, they will lose their institutional aid from Loras. Withdrawing from classes is usually not allowed in the Spain program. CAN I DROP AND ADD CLASSES WHILE ABROAD? A student may drop a course and add another with permission of the program director. Normally, a drop and add will be completed within one week to ten days of the semester. The minimum load of 12 semester hours must be maintained in order to receive financial aid. Dropping and adding courses is not normally allowed in the Spain program. STUDIES AND EXAMS WHAT ARE THE EXAMS LIKE FOR STUDY ABROAD STUDENTS? Multiple choice, matching or open-ended essay tests are less likely to occur abroad than in the U.S. Instead, the examination usually calls for accurate, precise and fact-filled answers from memory. Small bits of information are treated as equally important to major topics. Examinations present unusual problems for the American student who likes to cram the last week. WHAT EXPECTATIONS DO PROFESSORS ABROAD HAVE OF STUDENTS? Although attendance may not always be taken, all students are expected to attend all classes during the semester. The teacher expects that you will take careful and detailed notes, do the outside reading, memorize the information and be ready to repeat it on exams. You lose points for bad diction or weak grammar and possibly even for sloppy penmanship. If a students fails to show satisfactory interest in the academic aspect of the program, the Loras faculty director will warn the student of possible loss of course credit. If the warning is not headed, the instructor will record the student’s academic failure. Americans tend to be penalized for two common tactics. First, the student who crams gets hurt. There is just too much detailed information given out to squeeze into a two-week cram session. Second, no value is given to the American tactic of writing an imaginative (and improvised) essay, which is long on insight and short on data. The teacher often wants information wrapped up in the order and the language in which you learned it. Studying and discussing subjects with friends is one of the best ways to study while abroad. Forming study groups right from the beginning will pay off in the end. So aim to keep up with your daily work.